Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

John Prendergast Gouriet (1 June 1935 – 4 September 2010) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer, company director and political activist. He was best known as a founder of the National Association for Freedom (now known as The Freedom Association), and for pioneering the use of legal action to oppose actions of

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s and campaigning groups which he believed interfered with personal liberty, during three years as the Association's director.

Early life

Gouriet was the only son of a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

from Watchet,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

."Charterhouse Register 1925-1975" (Gentry Books, 1980), p. 295."Marriages", ''The Times'', 5 February 1963, p. 12. Gouriet was educated at Charterhouse (as a Girdlestoneite), an

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Godalming Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, from where he won a place at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

in 1954."R.M.A. Sandhurst", ''The Times'', 16 September 1954, p. 8.

Army career

Gouriet was commissioned as an officer in the

15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars The 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of the 15th The King's Hussars and the 19th Royal Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it was a ...

on 16 December 1955, after which he joined his regiment in Malaya on active service. Gouriet became the second in command of a company of the

Somaliland Scouts The Somaliland Scouts was a Rayid military unit, a regiment, of the British Army. It was established after the liberation of British Somaliland from Italy in December 1941 and the dissolution of the Somaliland Camel Corps in 1942, which was forme ...

from 1959 until the Scouts were disbanded in late 1960."Debrett's People of Today 1993", p. 791. He was promoted to captain on 16 December 1961, became Adjutant of the

Trucial Oman Scouts The Trucial Oman Scouts (), known as Trucial Oman Levies prior to 1956, was a predecessor paramilitary force that operated in the Trucial States under British control from 1951 to 1971, after which they were renamed to the Union Defence Force with ...

from 1961 to 1963, and then served as General Staff Officer Grade III Intelligence 1965–66 to the Director of Operations in Borneo. After attending

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

, where he earned a recommendation to return on the Teaching Staff as a Lieutenant Colonel, he was promoted to Major and became a Squadron Leader in 15/19 Hussars, a Chieftain tank regiment in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He finished his Army career as Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, responsible for Q Operations and Plans, in 1971 to 1972.

Politics

Leaving the Army with the rank of Major on 8 January 1973, Gouriet went to work as an assistant to Sir Walter Salomon at Rea Brothers merchant bank in the City of London. He later described how, shortly afterwards, on a

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...

-shooting trip to Speyside with family and friends, he was discussing the political and economic state of Britain in 1973–1974, he told the assembled party over lunch in the heather that "It's no use complaining and then doing nothing!" That night he resolved to "take up the cudgels" himself. Gouriet then contacted Ralph Harris of the free-market think tank the

Institute of Economic Affairs The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a British right-wing free market think tank, which is registered as a charity. Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to ...

to discuss linking up sympathetic groups and forming a co-ordinated opposition; Harris introduced him to Ross McWhirter. During the Conservative Party conference of 1975, Gouriet and McWhirter placed a copy of a campaign broadsheet called "Majority" on every seat.John Gouriet, "TFA - earliest days and winning ways]", 'Freedom Today, March/April 2005, p. 10-11; also included in John Gouriet, "Hear Hear!", AuthorHouse, 2010, pp. 342-3.

P & O legal action

The two had begun work on setting up their new organisation when they heard of an incident which gave them an opportunity to campaign. A P&O Ferries, P&O ferry crew had been sacked on arriving at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and had responded by impounding all the cars on their ship, which had not been unloaded. Gouriet thought that this action was illegal and agreed with McWhirter to challenge it; they found one of the car owners (John Nundy) who was willing to be a test case and funded him to apply for an injunction to release his car. After a hearing reportedly lasting eight minutes, Nundy was granted an injunction by the High Court against both P & O and the leader of the strike, requiring the release of his car."Ferry crew end strike and release cars", ''The Times'', 21 October 1975, p. 1. Gouriet later noted that it turned out that Nundy's car was at the back of the ship and so all other cars had to be offloaded before his could be reached.

Launch of the National Association for Freedom (NAFF)

Gouriet then tried unsuccessfully to persuade the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

to put up a reward of £50,000 for information leading to the conviction of IRA members. When the Secretary refused, Ross McWhirter did so himself; this decision led to his assassination by the IRA Balcombe Street gang. Less than a week after, on 2 December 1975, the National Association for Freedom – described by Harold Walker, the

Minister of State for Employment The Minister of State for Employment is a mid-level position in the Department for Work and Pensions The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government ...

between 1976 and 1979, as an " ultra right wing political organisation" which "sought to interfere in industrial disputes, with harmful consequences" — was launched at the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...

,"McWhirter killer uses name Michael Wilson, police say", ''The Times'', 3 December 1975, p. 3. with Gouriet as Campaign Director. The

Secretary of State for Education and Science The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

filed suit to force the local authority in

Tameside Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, named after the River Tame, Greater Manchester, River Tame, which flows through it, and includes the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Greater Manchester, Denton, D ...

to adopt a system of

comprehensive education Comprehensive may refer to: * Comprehensive layout, the page layout of a proposed design as initially presented by the designer to a client. *Comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, th ...

. The NAFF paid full legal costs for six parents of children at state schools there who intervened in the case."McWhirter group aids Tameside parents", ''The Times'', 13 August 1976, p. 2. Opposition to

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

was one of the Association's key points, and for his work Gouriet was awarded the Polish Gold Cross of Merit by the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...

in London. He was the sole British Guard of Honour at the unveiling of the memorial to the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

Gunnersbury Gunnersbury is an area of West London, England. Toponymy The name "Gunnersbury" originally meant "Gunner's (Gunnar's) fort", and is a combination of an old Scandinavian personal name + Middle English -''bury'', meaning, "fort", or "fortified ...

, west London, in September 1976.

South Africa

In early 1977 the

Union of Post Office Workers The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger ...

decided to boycott all telephone calls, mail and telegrams to and from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, in order to protest against

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. Gouriet, for the National Association For Freedom, applied for an injunction to prevent the boycott under the

Post Office Act 1953 Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

which made it illegal to impede the mail.

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Samuel Silkin Samuel Charles Silkin, Baron Silkin of Dulwich (6 March 1918 – 17 August 1988) was a British Labour Party politician and cricketer. He was the MP for Dulwich from 1964 to 1983, and served as Attorney General for England and Wales from 1974 t ...

refused consent for what was called a 'relator action';In a written Parliamentary answer, Silkin stated that this was the first and only time he had refused his consent. See
Hansard
', House of Commons, 5th series, vol. 924, col. 448. Gouriet went to court to challenge the refusal, and also issued a writ against the UPW in his own name anyway which was immediately turned down.Joe Rogaly, "Grunwick", Penguin Books 1977, p. 155. He lost his challenge to Silkin's refusal in the High Court but immediately appealed;"Appeal Court move to stop union plan for S Africa boycott", ''The Times'', 15 January 1977, p. 2. in the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning, (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999), was an English barrister and judge. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 when he w ...

granted a temporary injunction, summoned Silkin, and said that it was "very doubtful whether the Attorney General had directed himself properly"."Postal boycott restrained until Attorney General's appearance" (Law Report, 15 January 1977), ''The Times'', 17 January 1977, p. 14. When Silkin appeared in Court, he insisted that the Court of Appeal had no power to examine his reasons for refusing Gouriet consent, because this was the role of Parliament."Mr Silkin declines to explain to court his view on post ban", ''The Times'', 19 January 1977, p. 1. After a four-day hearing, Gouriet succeeded in establishing that an individual could challenge the Attorney General's refusal, in overturning the refusal in the immediate case, and in obtaining a permanent injunction. Lord Denning quoted the words of

Thomas Fuller Thomas Fuller (baptised 19 June 1608 – 16 August 1661) was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his ''Worthies of England'', published in 1662, after his death. He was a prolific author, and ...

, 'Be you ever so high, the law is above you'."Judges reject Mr Silkin's argument on constitutional role", ''The Times'', 28 January 1977, p. 1. This court defeat was highly embarrassing and Silkin was jeered with shouts of "resign" when he came to Parliament to explain."Attorney General still confident he came to correct conclusion", ''The Times'', 28 January 1977, p. 5. Silkin successfully appealed to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Grunwick

In the middle of 1977, Gouriet began considering whether to intervene in the

Grunwick dispute The Grunwick dispute was a British industrial dispute involving trade union recognition at the Grunwick Film Processing Laboratories in Chapter Road, Dollis Hill in the London suburb of Willesden, that led to a two-year strike between 1976 and 197 ...

in which a branch of the Post Office Workers Union had "blacked" mail to a photographic laboratory at which there was a strike."High Court action mooted to free mail", ''The Times'', 8 July 1977, p. 2. Instead, the National Association for Freedom undertook an operation to liberate the post with the co-operation of the company and the police. At 1am on Saturday 9 July, Gouriet organised 25 volunteers who loaded about 100,000 processed films from Grunwick on to two articulated lorries, and drove them to a depot north of London. There they stuck

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

s on them, before dividing the packages between a large number of cars and vans who drove all over the country to put them in different postboxes. In this way the Grunwick mail was delivered despite identifiable packaging, and what was called "Operation Pony Express" was judged a success."Grunwick mail cleared by freedom group volunteers", ''The Times'', 13 July 1977, p. 2.

Financial problems

Later that month Gouriet's campaign was dealt a blow when the House of Lords reversed the decision on the South African mail boycott, landing the association with costs then estimated at £30,000. This decision also prevented legal action in the Grunwick case and Gouriet denounced it as "a black day" in which "the law has been made a mockery"."Lords reverse ruling and bar private action on mail boycott", ''The Times'', 27 July 1977, p. 1. The Association launched an appeal for funds to pay its legal costs. In February 1978 Gouriet revealed that the legal costs amounted to £90,857 and that it had only until the end of March to pay them. He appealed for help, saying that failure to pay "will spell the end of NAFF and probably any organised resistance to the advance of communo-socialism in Britain" as well as his own personal

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

."£90,857 costs face Gouriet group with extinction", ''The Times'', 18 February 1978, p. 3. On 16 March Gouriet was able to announce that more than £90,000 had been raised."£90,000 raised in Gouriet case", ''The Times'', 17 March 1978, p. 2.

Subsequent life

Gouriet announced his resignation as director of the National Association for Freedom on 25 June 1978 after an internal disagreement over the role of the Association's management committee."Freedom association director resigns", ''The Times'', 26 June 1978, p. 2. In 2006 Gouriet was interviewed about the Freedom Association and the rise of

Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...

for the

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

documentary series ''

Tory! Tory! Tory! ''Tory! Tory! Tory!'' is a 2006 BBC Television documentary series on the history of the people and ideas that formed Thatcherism told through the eyes of those on the New Right. It was nominated for the best Historical Documentary at the Grierso ...

''. He became chairman of Stevens-Lefield Foods Ltd, a company specialising in pre-packed and pre-cooked meals,"New sponsors will add bite to Cowes", ''The Times'', 15 January 1983, p. 19. and also a Director of Park Air Travel Ltd. From 1991 he was a director and consultant to General Portfolio plc. An active member of the

Referendum Party The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue party, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership ...

, Gouriet was a Parliamentary candidate for the party in the 1997 general election in West Derbyshire; he polled 2,499 votes.Tim Austin (ed.), "The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1997", Times Books, p. 134. After the demise of the Referendum party, Gouriet joined the Democratic Party. He acted as campaign manager for the party's only candidate

Charles Beauclerk, Earl of Burford Charles Francis Topham de Vere Beauclerk (born 22 February 1965), also styled Earl of Burford by courtesy, is a British aristocrat and heir to the peerage title of Duke of St Albans. Beauclerk first came to public attention when he attempted to ...

at the Kensington and Chelsea byelection in November 1999."Now Portillo must face the Burford music", ''Evening Standard'', 10 November 1999, p. 12. After an attempt to challenge the removal of

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

s in the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

failed in 2000, Gouriet was again landed with a bill for substantial legal costs; he appealed to members of the House of Lords for help."Legal bill stumps Lords action protest", ''Evening Standard'', 25 October 2000, p. 12.

Foot and mouth

During the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001, Gouriet opposed the

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

's policy of slaughter of animals on farms neighbouring outbreaks.Jon Ungoed-Thomas, "Foot and mouth slaughter toll hits a new high", ''Sunday Times'', 20 May 2001, p. 4. He travelled throughout Britain campaigning against what he deemed to be unnecessary culling."Concert raises cash for legal challenges", ''Western Morning News'', 4 June 2001, p. 4.

European Union

In 2002 Gouriet and

Norris McWhirter Norris Dewar McWhirter (12 August 192519 April 2004) was a British writer, political activist, co-founder of The Freedom Association, and a television presenter. He and his twin brother Ross were known internationally for founding the refe ...

(twin brother of Ross McWhirter) co-founded Defenders of the Realm as an organisation campaigning against British membership of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. Gouriet remained chairman of the groupMission Statement o
Defenders of the Realm
until his death and was appealing for funds to mount a legal challenge to British membership by means of

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

. The Defenders claim that ancient documents including

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

, the Declaration of Rights and the Coronation Act 1688 prohibit membership.
Call to Action to stop the proposed new EU Constitution
.

Personal life

Gouriet married Sarah Barnett in 1963 in

Eton, Berkshire Eton ( ) is a town in Berkshire, England, on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor, connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The civil parish, which also includes the village of Eton Wick two miles west of the town, had ...

. They had three sons.

Illness and death

After a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, Gouriet underwent open heart surgery in

in 1993; he had a second heart attack in 2007. In a letter published by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' the following February, Gouriet praised the care he received from the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

."Value the NHS" (letter), ''The Daily Telegraph'', 25 February 2008, p. 21. In 2008 his book ''Hear Hear!'', a collection of over 700 letters and articles which he had 'written to the British press over the last eleven years of Labour government', was printed by

AuthorHouse AuthorHouse, formerly known as 1stBooks, is a self-publishing company based in the United States. AuthorHouse uses print-on-demand business model and technology. History Originally called 1stBooks, the company was founded in Bloomington, In ...

, a

self-publishing Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fro ...

company. The book has a foreword by

Lord Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, (born 29 March 1931) is a British retired politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1983), Secretary of State ...

. John Gouriet died during the evening of 4 September 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gouriet, John 1935 births 2010 deaths 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars officers British colonial army officers British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency People educated at Charterhouse School People from Watchet Referendum Party politicians Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Members of the Freedom Association Military personnel from London